Bug Juice
Lithone System(#1520RntN) - Milky Way A solitary star sits out in the middle of space, surrounded solely by a couple of miniscule insignificant planetoids. The star is big and bright enough to support and entire system and quite even lifeforms, but where there should be a planet teeming with life is only an empty orbit. This was once the Lithone System, home to the peaceful race of Lithonians. Then Unicron came and the Lithonians are no more. Contents: Decepticon Dropship After Unicron, there was nothing left in the Lithone system. Or so we believed. A small nameless planet, thrown out of its orbit after the Chaos Bringer pulled the system's gravitational structure apart. Desolate, uninhabited, but not empty- the planet's core was discovered to be what the research arm of the EDC could only call an electrical storm. A self sustaining, infinite loop of endless power: more than enough to power the Earth through its next steps making a galactic impact. And so, a simple power station was built on the surface. Only lightly defended, the EDC hoped the station's extreme isolation would be its best defense. Now, the humans and their Autobot allies worked diligently to convert power from the storm core into energon for transport back to Earth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcrnb5BLHKM The head of this particular research team, the infamous Chip Chase flits from console to console on his hover chair, watching readings and taking notes. "You know, I don't typically like being pulled from Protihex but this... Well the core of this planet is nothing short of spectacular!" He talks at who ever happens to be standing next to him and then points at Spike Witwicky "Spike, set the byrax levels to ten over pi and let's see how hard we can push her. I want a full report for Admiral Garcia" Power Armor arrived with the other EDC troopers and he's now standing beside Chip Chase, "This is pretty impressing Mr Chase. The possibilities this endless energy supply ... are limitless." The Benefactor commander checks the readings once more, "Truly amazing." The masai warrior won't tell anyone but he feels pretty nervous about the lack of defenses. This station would be highly prized by the Decepticons. Combat Hovercycle is in the hangar area, in her full EVA jumpsuit and helmet. Her hovercycle is currently getting the last bit of adjustment for temporary space worthiness, and the Nebulon is doing her best to be restrained under the circumstances of actual space racing. She stands with her hands clasped behind her back as she watches the last of the temporary maneuvering jets get cycled on. One of the mechanics wordlessly climbs onto the cycle, drawing a silent wince from Poise. She actually turns her back to him on HER vehicle for a moment, then with her hands nervously in fists, ends up kicking her feet up. She turns around and actually tries to get into the seat, shoving the mechanic out of position, "Sorry but I know how this part works, you'll just mess it up." She starts hitting keys on the control pad, "Anticipate Z-axis movement, readjusting calibration for outside gravity, and tertiary axies." The mechanic starts to say something, but she interrupts again, "Yes yes, and I'll need to secure a tow line to ensure I don't get separated from the craft. I understand." Her eyes gleam as she looks at the airlock. The cable snaps onto her side as she revs the engine, "And I'm supposed to be on patrol in five..." 'Lightly defended' did not mean 'lightly armed'. If there was one thing humanity has learned over the years, it was not the underestimate the power of villiany (and plot) to come ruin an otherwise perfectly 'simple' operation. Picking up the first big load of converted energy was a 'simple' operation. Energy of any sort had a history of becoming a volatile target. Such was the case with Decepticons. Such was the case with wars even before that. And that is why the Firehawk had been brought with the transport, instead of just Talia coming along for the ride herself. But since all the techno internal storm gobblegook wasn't really her thing, she was just sitting in the small personel hold of her craft, making sure the deployable machineguns were properly cleaned and loaded. Talia climbs into the cockpit of her VTOL craft, ready to take to the skies. Aramasu Hikage has arrived. Omnisuit "Salamander" is quick to set those byrax levels. He's likely just as nervous about the lack of defenses as Kenya is, and is less successful at hiding it, glancing over his armored shoulders too often. Eventually he waves down a grunt. "Can you get me some coffee? Thanks." Hikage is suddenly covered in nano-machines who transform into the Power Armor Helping guard a small base on a small, desolate planet wasn't exactly Zipline's idea of fun. Then again, the planet being uninhabited meant that the small cheetah bot didn't have to worry about silly things like running into parked cars or anything like that. Just nothing but wide open spaces to check out and explore. Exploring still counts as scouting, right? The difference is that you need to check in every so often. Zipline is a yellow blur across the surface of the planet, making quick headway back for the base. <> She radios in, hopping from one boulder to the next on her path to the base. The Insecticons, as a rule, were not to be trusted. Shrapnel was no exception- which would explain the mood on board the Decepticon short range transport Supremacy. After vanishing for weeks, and suddenly showing up with the demand that his fellow Insecticons follow him into dead space and keep their mandibles shut about it, those gathered on the shuttle had yet to receive an answer. Shrapnel sat in the cockpit, optics focused on the nothing of space, quietly muttering to himself, almost oblivious to the rest of the mechs on the ship. Cicada loathes being here. He hates how arrogant Shrapnel is, how domineering! (Venom is not entirely in touch with reality.) Venom is entirely sure that Shrapnel means for Venom to go on a too-dangerous mission and end up dead - and THEN. And then a Quintesson will raise Venom from the grave and enslave him, and Venom will forever be trapped serving a master who controls his own thoughts. Oh yes, he'll adore that Quintesson, but inside, a part of him will be forever screaming... But Venom sees through Shrapnel's plans! He does! Which is why he's a tiny cicada clinging to the ceiling of the transport right now, glaring at the back of Shrapnel's head. Grrr. Trust, schmust. Barrage is only interested in one thing - explosions. The living Michael Bay movie grew tired of sitting around waiting to fight hours ago. Calling in Barrage is usually a special situation, like when Decepticons are only interested in taking the planet, and not, say, prisoners, or a facility. This is because Barrage only stops firing because the trigger went click instead of 'bang' or 'pow'. The sad thing is, he's not even that stupid. In a different life, he could have been a physics professor, or a forensic scientist. Instead, he's put all of his relative brilliance into one thing - making everything around him a horrible, smoking mess. "Shhhh... okay GUYS... mmmlike, so what the am I shootin' here...? Whazzat?" He responds to himself morso than the other Insections, "You said everything? Hccchhh... okay! S'the least I can do. I'll TRY TO apportion out the bullets and the kabooms... y'know... hccchh APPROPRIATELY." He pauses. It's that uncomfortable pause that comes when you're trapped on the bus with the crazy guy that you're pretty sure is armed with a machete and an excuse to use it. "GUYS! GUYS! THE PLANET! Hcccchhh... LET'S SHOOT THE OUT OF IT!" The over-armed killing machine stomps towards the autocannon controls like a fat kid after a pie truck. And in case you're wondering, yes. Barrage sounds /just like Bobcat Goldthwait/. Scorn was a little reluctant to join Shrapnel's mission into space, but seeing as the Neutrals were quit for the moment and the Hive working smoothly, she figures she can allow herself some time away. This explains why Scorn is hanging around the cockpit's door, eager to see what's going on instead of hang in the cargo with the common rabble. "While I enjoy a little romp through space as much as the next con, I'm still curious as to why you've dragged us all the way out here." The femme uncrosses arms and stands upright from leaning on the doorframe. "I hope it's important and not some frivolous venture." And did he have to bring Barrage? Primus, this was going to be a long ride. Chip Chase dismisses any concerns about defense with a wave of his hands. "That's why you're all here! I'm not concerned in the slightest. Besides, if we are attacked, I'll be the first one to run back to the ship!" Hold for laughs, 2-3-4... "Spike, make a note that levels are holding steady. If this continues, it could be just the breakthrough we need- just like Kenya says! Limitless energy. Finally within our grasp." He taps a button on his armrest and a can of Code Red Mountain Drew ejects. Cracking it open, he takes a sip. "That's the stuff. Makes me miss playing Starcraft." Power Armor simply nods at Chip, "Since I'm not needed here, I'll head back to the ship to supervise the defenses. But first I'm gonna inspect the rest of the installations." Putting his helmet back on, the masai warriors exists the commander center and proceed to check on the various EDC troopers scattered around the installation. Omnisuit "Salamander" just wants to make sure Daniel doesn't grow up like Chip Chase, but he'll pity the guy with a half-hearted laugh. He then takes a steady sip from his coffee. "Noted, Chase." Kenya totally bails. "Wait, er, I'll accompany you sir." VSC-25 Firehawk gives the test lever a few tugs to make sure the autoloader is functioning properly, and satisfied with that closes the weapon compartment up. A good soldier always spent their downtime making sure they were prepared for when the inevitable fighting did start. Combat Hovercycle engages in a bit of playful challenge over the +nest channel as she waits in the airlock. The energy field flickers to life behind her, a translucent blue field that distorts everything on the other side. Her eyes turn towards the second airlock, able to hear the air being sucked out. Sure in an emergency, this'd go by much faster, but this is hardly an emergency. So why is her heart racing? She fingers the gas, her fingers dancing over it as she waits, and waits. Three seconds go by. The airlock sounds the all clear, green light flashing. She roars out onto the station's exterior in a burst of speed, fast enough that she immediately loses control of the situation, as she's blasted back against the seat. The horizon spins about her as the hovercycle twirls about, and glances off of some support structure. She reaches up to regain control, thumbing the button for stabilizers to get on the job. After a few moments, the cycle rights itself against the plane of the base. Poise shakes her head, her glasses askew. She takes a moment to talk to herself "Hah...that was fun....anyway I have a checkpoint to reach." With that, she heads towards Checkpoint Alpha where Zipline'd surely be ahead of her. Combat: Combat Hovercycle compares her Velocity to Zipline's Velocity: Failure :( Wraith Power Armor patrols along the edge of the perimeter maintaining radio silence until something worthwhile comes up. Checking for holes in the security...holes he would use himself if he were trying to get in. He squawks his mic once to signal everything is ok. For a ground pounder, Zipline was making good time back to the surface installation. Roads? She don't need any roads. Broad paws hit the ground in quick succession, one after the other, making instant calibrations for the differential changes between the surfaces. Whereas someone on wheels might need to go around the large outcropping between her and the installation, Zipline jumps right up on top of it, hopping from surface to surface. And slides down the other end. Then from there it's straight on to Checkpoint Alpha. <> Zip radios back to Poise, coming to a point at the checkpoint. Her tail flicks playfully behind her as she slows to a casual walk to let her generators cool off. Shrapnel stands, and points out into space at the rapidly approaching planet. "Thiszz izz our frivolous venture, Scorn...The human germz have found a planet whose core izz an undying electrical storm." He begins to pace, monologuing to the gathered Insecticons. "It muzzt be oursz. Limitless energy in the grasp of the Insssszzzecticonzzzss!" Striking a dramatic pose, he closes a fist and waves it in the air. "Do you nott sssssssssee? The hivezz on Earth<'Earth'>? My disszzzcovery here? It izzzz our time! The Inzzzsecticonzzz mussst rize above their inferiorszzors>!" The dropship hatches begin to open. "Inssszzectionz, for the Hive! Transszzzzform and make these humansszz feel our wrath!" And with that inspirational/psychotic rant, he transforms and drops out of the ship, ready to swarm the installation! SHRAPNEL transforms into a terrifying MECHASTAG BEETLE! Combat: Mechastag Beetle sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Mechastag Beetle strikes Combat Hovercycle with his Full-Auto Area attack! Combat: Mechastag Beetle strikes Zipline with his Full-Auto Area attack! Cicada knows that Barrage's indiscriminate shooting sprees are just a cover for Barrage's true goals: to shoot Venom! Scorn, meanwhile, obviously wants to eat Venom. But he knows better, oh he does. He'll play them all off each other! Scorn will be /eaten/ by Shrapnel - who will coincidentally die in a friendly fire accident caused by Barrage, and then Quintessons will take Barrage! And Venom will be alone, with no one to rule. No, no, that won't do at all... He sneaks out the shuttle, staying a tiny cicada. He will wait, he will watch, and then he will strike, when the time is right. Combat: Cicada slips into the shadows and out of sight... In all fairness, Venom is right in that Barrage does indeed want to shoot everyone. Each day is spent trying to figure out how he can get away with shooting everyone from Galvatron on down. That technically includes Venom. So, in short, Venom is a genius. While everyone strike dramatic poses, shouts affirmations of Insecticon supremacy, runs for their lives, or whatever, Barrage's hands clamp down on the cannon controls. With deafening, unhinged laughter that sounds like a swamp cooler trying to puke up a shreiking racoon, Barrage pulls the trigger. The shiny trigger. The jolly, candy-like trigger. There are a lot of booms. Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle strikes Combat Hovercycle with Decepticon Dropship 's Defensive Batteries Area attack! -4 Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle strikes Zipline with Decepticon Dropship 's Defensive Batteries Area attack! -4 Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle strikes Omnisuit "Salamander" with Decepticon Dropship 's Defensive Batteries Area attack! -4 Scorn perks when the mech stands, a brow lofting and the femme stepping forward to observe the planet that he gestures to. "Unending electrical storm..? Sounds tasty.." She muses, rubbing her chin in thought. "But how did you find out--?" He cuts her off and goes into a dramatic speech, something that makes her eye him a little as he dives out the hatch. A limitless supply of power would certainly rocket the Insecticons above everyone else in this war, but does Shrapnel mean to use it against the Cons as well? It's an interesting, yet dangerous thought, but she doesn't dwell on it and instead stows it away for later. Transforming, Scorn approached the hatch behind Shrapnel and rallies the others as they begin pouring out. "You heard the mech! Let the feast begin!" And with a skree of hunger she dives out, descending towards planet, though she remains airborne for the moment to spot out the choicest prey. Scorn crouches before shifting into her scythe-armed mantis mode. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis sets her defense level to Protected. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Robotic Praying Mantis has 'skipped' her action for this round. Chip Chase's head snaps up from his datapad in alarm. "Explosions? That's just completely unexpected!" His Xavier chair vrooms to one of the security guards. "Let Kenya's troops handle this directly. We need to prepare energon and scientific data for possible evacuation!" Power Armor starts running as soon as Poise alerts them. Looking over his shoulder at Spike he shouts, "Get your exo and meet me outside." Soon he exits the base and takes off. <> The benefactor commander rises into the air as fast as his antigravs can. Combat: Power Armor inspires Wraith Power Armor , VSC-25 Firehawk , Omnisuit "Salamander" , and Combat Hovercycle with wise and uplifting words! Combat: Power Armor sets his defense level to Protected. Wraith Power Armor stops in his tracks as he hears the calls over radio. He briefly looks over his shoulder to make sure no one is sneaking up on him and makes for the location of the disturbance. He spots the mantis...color matches. Could it be the one from the other day? Time to figure it out. The ninja jogs and pushes a little button on his belt which releases a small shuriken. Insignificant weapon but it just might get some attention. He flings the throwing star at Scorn. Combat: Wraith Power Armor sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Wraith Power Armor misses Robotic Praying Mantis with his Shuriken (Pistol) attack! "Yes sir!" Spike is not losing his coffee dammit, he just got it. He's going to jog out there, shove his helmet back on, and- *CRACK* Barrage lights up his front side something fierce. Stirred by the general's speech, he turns to focus on the dropship, or rather the bug that's causing them trouble. With his coffee still in one hand, he activates one of his arm-mounted weapons and unleashes lead in Barrage's direction. Combat: Omnisuit "Salamander" sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Omnisuit "Salamander" strikes Rhinoceros Beetle with his Laser attack! Combat Hovercycle had just caught up to Zipline when all hell breaks loose! A barrage of gunfire lights her up cycle, causing her to swerve and spin out. Already one of her stabilizers snaps off, letting out a silent scream as it hisses off into the night. She scowls as she stares up into the dark sky. Her HUD and cycle help identify targets in the great black of night. The shuttle...that was a big target, and while the idea of payback was most appealing, her cannon was best suited against smaller targets. She hits the gas, gaining some more speed, <> Combat: Combat Hovercycle sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Combat Hovercycle strikes Mechastag Beetle with her Chain Gun Sidecar attack! -2 Combat: You took 7 damage. Talia was just pondering going in for a cool off now that her equipment check was done, but the crackling of attack reports in her earpiece cuts that consideration short. Quickly she taps the responde key. <> She yanks off her stetson and flicks it into the cockpit, hanging it almost perfectly on the back of the pilot's chair, then grabs her flight helmet and tugs it on as she vaults over the side of the chair to drop into it. As the gunship is keyed specifically to her it reacts automatically to her weight on the seat by dropping the safety harness into place and lighting up the control console. The main screens flash to life, skipping right to displaying the dots of departing Insecticons, and one large dot for their craft providing coverfire. Talia keys in the main ignition code, and with a pallable thrum the VTOL energy turbines whirl to life. As it lifts off the ground the Firehawk turns towards the incoming threats, holo-display on the inside of the cockpit shielding blinking to life as scanners lock onto the dropship. "Well, that explains the big ol' fireworks." The Firehawk blazes away from the compound without wasting a moment, Talia smirking a bit to herself at Kenya's speech/orders. "Don't gotta tell me twice." Side-mount guns blaze to life with muzzles flaring, peppering a barrage of laser fire at the dropship. Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk strikes Decepticon Dropship with her Laser Interdiction (Laser) attack! Kickback has arrived. Kickback's body twists and rotates as he drops to the ground, turning into a giant metal locust. <> Zipline says casually, <> Her optics narrow in annoyance. <> She turns her head towards the speck that is Poise and her hovercycle on the horizon, and starts moving towards it. <> Zipline is abruptly cut off when things begin exploding around her! The little cat-bot is thrown backwards, and she hits the ground in a roll. Metal groans as she pushes herself back up to all fours, <> Then the world explodes again. Funny how she was just thinking how boring patrol was on this planet. Zipline shakes her head to clear it of the ringing that the explosions leave. Then she's off, running after Poise and their beetle aggressor. "Hey! The humans found this place first! Buzz off!" Her large railcannon materializes upon her back, only slightly slowing her down. But she's forced to slow her speed further as the barrel extends outwards. It levels at Shrapnel, and there's only a brief warning humm of energy before *WHUD*, it fires a spinning projectile near the speed of sound in the insecticon's direction. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Zipline strikes Mechastag Beetle with her Breaker Railcannon attack! -3 Combat: You took 5 damage. Combat: Zipline's attack damages your armor. Mechastag Beetle screams a horrifying bug scream as Poise's weapons cut into his armor. The Insecticon transforms, smiling wickedly, optics wide on the Nebulon. An current of electricity rolls through his antennae as he points his blaster. "What's thisss>? The first to die, and such a delicious looking motorcycle..." He's about to pull the trigger when Zip blasts him. "Perhaps first...a snack! Or perhapzzz I will be greedy!" SHRAPNEL rises up to reveal his ROBOT MODE! Combat: Shrapnel sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: That is not an area attack. Combat: Shrapnel misses Zipline with his Laser attack! Cicada attempts to sneak into the EDC compound. There will be schematics, notes, something on the nature of this power source. The problem with the other Insecticons is that they're like babies: they put everything in their mouths. And they all want him dead, of course. That is also a problem. In any case, Venom wants to steal information from the EDC base to better understand the nature of the storm. Oh he gets Scorn's attention alright, the mantis halting in midair and twisting around to stare down Hikage when the shuriken just narrowly misses her face. If she could smile she'd be grinning madly as a wicked cackle slips past flexing mandibles. "Well well, if it isn't the little swordsman from before. Looks like we'll be able to have that dance after all." Dropping altitude, Scorn alights before the ninja and smiles inwardly while brandishing blade arms. "As I said, I do so love a mech who can handle a blade. So let's just how you handle yours!" Spindly legs dig in before launching the Insecticon forward, Scorn hissing as scythes swing forward to cut Hikage down. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis strikes Wraith Power Armor with her Plasma Sheathed Blades attack! -1 Barrage is rattled from his reverie rudely as Spike's shot hits him square in the face, and then Talia's attack rattles him from the controls. "Hccchh! The HELL? AUGH!" Like the brilliant strategist he is, Barrage backs away and looks for an exit from the ship in order to attack his foes directly. Failing to immediately find an exit, Barrage blows a hole in the side of the ship, and hurls himself out of it. The large bug immediately begins falling to the ground, cackling and wheezing the entire way before suddenly righting himself just as he smashes into the ground with a resounding clang. A dinner bell from hell. Focusing on the INFAMOUS SPIKE WITWICKY, ALLY OF ALL THAT IS BOT, Barrage's antennae swivel, and immediately open fire with the fury of a billion hornets. Angry hornets. Explosive angry hornets. Explosive angry hornets of DEATH. "Hcccch... OKAY!" Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle strikes Omnisuit "Salamander" with his Non-Stop Explosive Charges attack! -2 Chip Chase is overseeing several interns putting high tech cassette tapes worth of data into boxes to take to the EDC shuttle. There's all sorts of data for Venom to see, like the fact that the core seems older than the planet and that it could create like, a ton of energon. Enough to make the Insecticons worship whomever is in charge of it. "Come guys, you can do this safely and effectively- all you need is courage!" Vroom goes the hoverchair. Power Armor just reaches the ship and choose the exit hatch he wants to blow to get inside when suddenly a weird insecticon comes out of it and shoot at Spike, "Not so fast bug." As he speaks, he tries to identify it but fails, "Hum you're not in my files... probably mere clone." With an outburst of power from his propulsion system, Kenya launches himself forwards and throws a vicious pounch at Barrage. Combat: Power Armor strikes Rhinoceros Beetle with his Who are you again? attack! -4 Wraith Power Armor sees the mantis dive down and is not quite sure how to handle an actual mantis. He gets surprised and slashed as the insecticon makes her way down. The ninja rolls backwards and executes a perfect draw cut with inverted grip trying to slash from crotch to forehead in a nice clean perfectly straight line. "Then you will love me." After the slash he assumes a Jigen-Ryu stance. Dramatic music starts as the battle of the swords has begun. http://youtu.be/cTFJPfQ4rLc Combat: Wraith Power Armor strikes Robotic Praying Mantis with his Ninja-to attack! <'Decepticon'> Kickback says, "... what is all of thissss...." Combat Hovercycle raises a hand to her helmet as she passes beneath Shrapnel. "Hey ugly buggy!" She leans to one side...which really isn't needed in 0 G, but she's new to it. The cycle tilts a few degrees before the sidemounted jets kick in, swooping Poise off in another direction. She turns about back towards Shrapnel, then taps a few keys on her console. Her eyes gleam for a moment, "If you want something to eat, Open Wide!" Gunfire rains out towards the stag beetle, compensators kicking in to keep her from drifting off course. Combat: Combat Hovercycle strikes Shrapnel with her Chain Gun Sidecar attack! -2 Combat: You took 11 damage. Omnisuit "Salamander" hisses sharply as Barrage's... barrage of explosives rip and tear at his armor. It's enough to wreck some hydraulics in one of his arms. He also spills his coffee. "Dadgummit!" He flings the coffee cup down and steps on it. "Bah!" Kenya graciously takes over. Venom doesn't escape him, however, and he quickly moves to pursue the sneaky cicada into the compound. Hopefully he can come up from behind, as the orange hardlight blade around his arm powers up with a hum and comes down to slash Venom across the back. As soon as Zipline fires the slug, the kickback causes the barrel of her cannon to slide back into its unextended position. And just in time too. Zipline draws additional energy from her generators to put on extra speed, her paws kicking up dust behind her. That's not all that's kicking up dust behind her, as laserfire just narrowly misses her tail. "Oh, so you think I'm a snack!" Zipline leaps up on top of a convenient outcropping, running rapidly up it. At the top, hydrolics tense briefly, and she lunges straight at Shrapnel. Jaws open, she aims to clamp onto his arm with sharp, not so little cat teeth. Combat: Omnisuit "Salamander" takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Zipline strikes Shrapnel with her In Soviet Cybertron Snack Eat You (Kick) attack! Combat: You took 8 damage. Score one for the humans as Barrage is forced to eject from the dropship! Okay, maybe forced is pushing it, but the point is that he's on the ground with the others and the dropship would seem to be on auto or something now. Eh. Grounding it for good would be one thing, but considering the importance of the station, the actual attackers are more important. Unfortunately while the bug is out, he's just unloading more bombs all over the place and still being a big hazard. Good thing Spike took cover back inside. Kenya's on the move too, but if the bug is pumping out that much firepower he might have his hands full. As the Firehawk comes around from it's initial pass on the dropship, Talia redirects the targetting systems towards the rhino beetle instead. The autocannon beneath it's nose spins to life, followed by a loud *chuk-chuk-chuk* as it rapid-fires several incederary rounds at the bug bombadier. Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk strikes Rhinoceros Beetle with her Bringin The Heat Bringing The Pain attack! Cicada watches Chip Chase's work greedily. But the core is older than the planet itself? That pings on Venom, conspiracy theorist that he is. Maybe the core was hidden inside a planet, so as to hide it? But who could pull off such a feat? And why? He must know more! Venom shadows one of the interns with the box. When the intern is distracted, Venom will try to snatch the box - only, it seems like Spike is hunting him? That won't do. The Insecticon abruptly enlarges into a monstrous cicada and tries to skewer poor Spike. He raises one of his legs across his mouth and hushes, "Shhh." Combat: Cicada appears from the shadows... Leaping into the air, Venom transforms into a Giant Cicada. Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Giant Cicada strikes Omnisuit "Salamander" with his Paralyzing Toxin attack! Combat: Omnisuit "Salamander" has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Secondary Damage! So the human, or rather alt-human, has some fancy moves. Hikage's reflexes catch her off guard a moment, giving him enough time too lash out at her front. Luckily she moves her head in time, so he only slices a line into her torso that already begins to slowly spring fresh energon. "Hrn! I see you've got some bite to you, human." She clacks her jaws and hisses nastily, advancing on the ninja swiftly in an attempt to snap him up in her mandibles' vice grip and squeeze should she success. "Well so do I!" Something small has accompanied Shrapnel. Something small, and something close. The original trio always worked well together, and this night is no exception. Having taken post on the larger insect's shoulder, a small grasshopper is close enough to get a good look at Zipline's structure. << There... the joint is weakest near the hip, a thinness of armor in exchange for speed... >> Kickback shrinks into a tiny grasshopper through the magic of television. Combat: Kickback analyzes Zipline for weaknesses Shrapnel can exploit. Shrapnel hisses. "I doooo want to eat! I want to eat the heart of this planet!" He's about to return fire on Poise when Zipline BITES HIM. Two can play at that game. The Insecticon transforms, and it's large robot feline vs large robot stag beetle: a dream match in any star system. "A snack, yesszzz. Did I stutter?" He lunges forward, attempting to sink his pincers into the catssette tape, exactly where Kickback directs! SHRAPNEL transforms into a terrifying MECHASTAG BEETLE! Combat: Mechastag Beetle sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Mechastag Beetle strikes Zipline with his Feeding Frenzy attack! Combat: Massive damage! Combat: Zipline falls to the ground, unconscious. Combat: Removing analysis data for Zipline. Combat: Mmmmmm! You gain 10 energon from your Feed attack. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis strikes Wraith Power Armor with her Bite attack! -1 Pew pew pew! Clank! Punches and lasers and incendiary rounds batter the heavy hull of the insecticon menace known best as Barrage. People say stuff, ostentibly challenging him or dismissing him or something. Typical ego trash talk that Barrage never hears because when your function is 'Gunner', the only thing you listen for is the sad whirl of automatic weapons running out of ammo in the feed. So basically, all Barrage hears out of Kenya is this: "Blarg blarg blarg blarg argbaloo." Secretly, this is all any Cybertronian hears of organics, but most of them are pretty good at pretending to interpret the sounds, kind of like Lassie and Timmy. At any rate, the interdiction of the other power armor causes Barrage to pause only for a moment. "Hccch! GET OUT OF MY WAY, PUNK! SHEYAAAAAAARGH!" The bug's face lights up as he goes full on pokemon solar beam on Kenya, opening up the apetures on his cannons to full as he attempts to blast a hole straight through the man on his way to SPIKE WITWICKY, INTERGALACTIC MAN OF MYSTERY. Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle strikes Power Armor with his High Energy Photons attack! -1 Chip Chase yelps when Venom makes his move! As Spike Witwicky goes down, he does the first thing that comes to mind, and flings his can of Code Red Mountain Dew at the Insecticon. Clang! "Interns, scatter!" And they do. Oh how they do. Wraith Power Armor gets snapped by the mantis's mandibles. "Pretty fast yourself." The ninja struggles out of the jaw and rolls away once...twice...*SHLAK* What happened? Upon completing the second roll the ninja lets loose with his wrist-mounted crossbow. A bolt the size of a quarter flies at over 400 pfs towards Scorn. "If you keep this up I will have to get nasty with you." Power Armor is caught off guard by Barrage retaliation. His armor protects him from the worst but he still took quite a hit and the nanites are working overtime to seal the damages while the armor's computer analyze the sound emited by the insecticon: <> "Then let's finish it" says the masai. Raising his hand, he unleashes a deadly energy blast on Barrage. Combat: Wraith Power Armor strikes Robotic Praying Mantis with his Forearm-mounted Crossbow attack! -1 Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Power Armor strikes Rhinoceros Beetle with his Gauntlet Blast attack! Omnisuit "Salamander" can only glimpse the yellow armor of Venom coming from the shadows before his horrible proboscis pierces straight through the armor on his abdomen and fills him full of venom. He staggers away, struggling to live the weapons on his arm, but it's so heavy, /so/ heavy. He tries to look up and focus, but everything on his HUD is blurry and vague and... "Ffffig newtons," he manages to curse before clattering to the ground, unable to move. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Omnisuit "Salamander" has 'skipped' his action for this round. Combat Hovercycle 's high pitched cry rings out over the NEST channel, "Autobot Down!" Her eyebrows furrow in contempt and fury. Insecticons, the dumb brutes, are doing a good job of bullying the EDC and a minibot...tape...cassettebot. And the worst part was that Zipline was in his mouth. There was a possibility she'd get eaten...if Poise didn't get involved. She looks sidelong at her targetting computer. "No chance of hitting her. Everything's calibrated perfectly." Her words lack the perfect confidence needed of a sharpshooter, but with Zipline in trouble, the situation was grim. "Let me be clear here, Insecticon...PUT THE CAT DOWN!" Her sidecar lights up, spewing a powerful burst of rounds at Shrapnel, the sound lost in space, but the lightshow is mildly impressive. Combat: Combat Hovercycle strikes Mechastag Beetle with her Chain Gun Sidecar attack! Combat: You took 14 damage. Combat: Combat Hovercycle 's attack has damaged your Firepower! "I'll give you indigestion you sorry excuse for a cyberfly!" Zipline says around a mouthful of insecticon arm. She bites down harder, fully intending to try and take it off. At least, that was her intention. That is until Shrapnel's aim hits a little too true. Thanks to Kickback's intel, it's easy to find the weak spot in Zipline's armor, just at the joint. It's thinner there, making it easier for Zipline to hit her top speeds. Armor is immediately shredded when Shrapnel bites on the weak spot. She lets out a yowl of pain, releasing Shrapnel from her own jaws. Ussing her other paw to push against him, she struggles to get herself free. She doesn't want to get eaten! But without the armor, it doesn't take much for the foreleg to be torn right off. Just a little more pressure, and the joint snaps off. Zipline's optics go wide in alarm, then flicker. Without the leg joint attached, she goes falling to the ground. On the plus side, she's not in Shrapnel's mouth anymore. On the down side, she's out of the fight. Mechastag Beetle looks up at Poise as he chews on Zipline, suddenly remembering the Nebulon with guns. And then he gets blasted in the face. Getting knocked back a good handful of yards, he rolls to a halt in his robot mode, and then pulls himself to his feet. "Enough! Come, Kickback! Insecticonsszzz, DESTROY THEM ALL!" He launches into the sky screaming and blasting lighting out of his antennae and hands! This also counts as foreshadowing. SHRAPNEL rises up to reveal his ROBOT MODE! Combat: Shrapnel sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Shrapnel strikes Power Armor with his Chain Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Power Armor 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Shrapnel strikes VSC-25 Firehawk with his Chain Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected VSC-25 Firehawk 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Shrapnel strikes Combat Hovercycle with his Chain Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Combat Hovercycle 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Shrapnel strikes Wraith Power Armor with his Chain Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Wraith Power Armor 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: You are running low on energon! Giant Cicada looks utterly disgusted by the Code Red that Chip Chase has flung at him. He sputters, "High fructose corn syrup!? You're trying to poison me! I'm on to your schemes, human!" He rises up into robot mode, and he looks at Spike, considering, and then over at Chip Chase and around at the fleeing interns. "I imagine you are brave, hovering human. I suppose that I could lay you out on the rack, and you wouldn't break. Which is why I am going to show your /friend/ his own /nightmares/." "You won't like seeing it." Venom shifts into his imposing robot mode. Combat: Venom sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Venom strikes Omnisuit "Salamander" with his Psychological Warfare attack! How Hikage manages to wiggle out of her grasp, Scorn doesn't know. But it more than pisses her off and makes her growl under her vocals. "Get back here, you! I haven't finished eating ye--Gkh!" Mouth widens, trying to bite again as she gives chase, only instead of a ninja she gets a bolt that pierces the roof of her mouth and spikes through her skull. With an ear shattering screech the mantis stumbles back, flats of her blades against her head to try and stem the pain enough to allow her to recover. "Hngh.. bastard little human.." She chitters through the thin stream of energon leaking from the corner of her mouth. "You may be a worthy opponent, but you'll soon be my meal!" Once Shrapnel lets loose on the crowd, Scorn rushes Hikage with blades poised and ready to stab through him. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis misses Wraith Power Armor with her Skewered attack! Kickback leaps off Shrapnel so he's not outright fried himself. He has no intentions to Ride the Lightning. Growing in size, he transforms, scanning the battlefield, assessing any particularly weak targets he might be able to pick off. The metal locust transforms and rises up, body twisting into the shape of a humanoid robot named Kickback. Combat: Kickback takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Twisting and folding, the large antenna atop his head folds along his back as he stands up, completing his transformation to robot mode. DEADLY HAND BLAST! Barrage is finally halted in his advance as the inferno burning on his body is augmented by the HAND BLAST OF DEADLINESS. He transforms, attempting to get a better vantage point of the fight as Shrapnel begins to bellow. "Hccch.. what do you THINK I've been trying to do...? Play PATTY CAKE? Mmmmrgh!" Is the response. And then the light fantastic splits the sky, dancing about like a Kremzeek mating ritual. The large insecticon covers his face to shield from the strobelike effect. Sadly, any benefit that the blinding attack will provide is largely wasted on someone as slow as Barrage. Still, the murderous bug never found any advantage he didn't press. Shifting to a more defensive stance, he raises his sonic pistol and pulls the trigger. The sound produced is a deafening, horrible focused sound that is, in actuality, Barrage's voice amplified about 9000 times. It goes something like this: "NEEEEEEAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHGMM!!!!" That's hurled at Kenya's armor at full blast. It's seriously terribad. Combat: Barrage sets his defense level to Protected. The sudden lightning storm has done something...Bad. That's probably the scientific term. Chip shouts for Venom to stay away from Spike, and begs the elder Witwicky to just have courage, when a lot of alarms start going off, electricity from Shrapnel's attack arcing and sparking out of the control consoles. That's when the first earthquake hits. Combat: Barrage misses Power Armor with his Sonic Rifle attack! Power Armor is struck by lightning which temporarily blinds his sensors. He loudly curses he attempts to recalibrate them. He manages to get a semi-decent picture of the situation, just in time to see Barrage raises his pistol at him. He grabs his arm, deflecting the shot and throws another punch with his free hand, "You piece of sh*t!". Combat: Power Armor strikes Barrage with his Bitchslap attack! -2 Wraith Power Armor holds his sword parallel to the ground above his head and stabs downward as he rolls over to the side, barely touching Scorn's blade, just so he can deflect it away and let her motion carry through...Much like a bullfighter actually. "Many have made that claim but I am still here." For the next trick he needs some room. The ninja makes an enormous leap back thanks to the anti-gravs built into the armor. This is starting to look like Crouching Tiger Hidden Ninja. Hikage executes a little flourish and puts the tip of his sword to the ground. He starts walking slowly towards Scorn...Tiny sparks coming from the tip of the blade. The walk turns into a jog...more sparks...The jog turns into a full charge leaving huge shower of sparks with a grating noise as the ninja closes the distance...What...There's two of them! There's three of them! There's none of them... Combat: Wraith Power Armor activates his cloaking field and vanishes from sight! Omnisuit "Salamander" is really not digging these chemicals. He brings his armored hands to his helmet and claws slowly at the metal, heel digging into the floor. He's got quite a few nightmares, mostly involving his family, or bad things happening to Bee, or, y'know, his home planet turned into a charred wasteland. But through this drug-induced haze he hears the voices over the frequency, and it's enough to snap him out of it enough to draw forth a rather wicked-looking harpoon from subspace. Gool ol' Paco. Still trembling, he levels it on Venom's face. Combat: Omnisuit "Salamander" strikes Venom with the Apocryphacius-forged Hell's Dark Heart Harpoon attack! Combat: That attack has slowed Venom, making him less efficient. Lightning Strikes. A Nebulan shrieks. She's not in full armor, that's not the job of a skirmisher, the rapid response team. However, the hovercycle has some measure of grounding against space lightning. When the jagged blades of fulmination hit her, it catches the machine dead on, coarses through Poise, then out the other side. She'd rarely taken damage personally before, and the wound had already begun to bleed. She grits her teeth as she white-knuckles against the handlebars. Without even looking, she starts to fire her sidecar, taking that moment to recover. The weapon's still locked onto Shrapnel, so he deserves it! Combat: Combat Hovercycle strikes Shrapnel with her Chain Gun Sidecar attack! Combat: You took 12 damage. Combat: You are very aware that your life is in danger! Combat: Combat Hovercycle 's attack has damaged your Accuracy! The downside to so many entities on the field is that Talia can't just start unloading the firepower left and right, and risk friendly fire incidents even with her marksmanship skills. So she has to opt to hold fire the last fly over, and come around for another pass afterwards. She lets out a growl as she hears Zipline goes down, and starts to bring her sights down on the Insecticons as the craft comes back into the fight. Right into Shrapnel's improvised lightning burst. Needless to say, being in the air in middle of an electrical storm does not play well. Several of the bolts slam into the airship, sending arcs crackling along its fuselage and leaving deep scorch marks from the electrical burns in its hull. But the Firehawk muscles through it, though as some of the displays start to flicker from the current overload Talia snarls and smacks one with her fist. Flickering continues. So she curses a bit, and disengages the targetting systems while they reboot and takes direct control of the main weapons herself. Technology is grand and all, but any pilot worth their salt knows how to still do this the old fashioend way. Despite the difficulties she brings the autocannon turret to bear on Barrage, and it roars to life in a flurry of highly explosive rounds at the beetle bomber. "Time t' squash this varmint!" Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk sets her defense level to Fearless. <'Decepticon'> Scorn says, "This human is getting on my nerves..." <'Decepticon'> Kickback says, "Would you like an assist?" Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk strikes Barrage with her HE Autocannon attack! <'Decepticon'> Scorn says, "That would be appreciated. And if you can see the invisible bastard, even better." More hell rains down on Barrage from the sky and Kenya punches him right in the face! It's horrible as fire melts the gunner's armor and repeated blows to the body cause components and plating to rattle off his body. And yet, still the miserable bastard is standing. What a jerk, not even having the good sense to die. With the complete blitzing, Barrage can do little more than completely lose his shit. He half-laughs, half screams like a schitzophrenic hobo that has just located a truckload of abandoned hooch, pushes his gun into Kenya's armor's helmet-y area, and attempts to fire away until the gun runs out of ammo, he is blown into a pile of mush, or both. Combat: Barrage sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Barrage strikes Power Armor with his Sonic Rifle attack! Venom was not expecting a harpoon from Spike. Usually, Venom is the one sticking pointy objects into people! As soon as Venom moves, his armour goes brittle and deserts him entirely. He looks down at his nake circuits with horror. His movement feels slowed, sluggish, and - and energon weeps freely from his lines. Venom's composure vanishes. The inescapable gnawing hunger that lives in the soul of every Insecticon grips him. He can't keep it down. Venom doesn't even have control of himself, and that is the truth of it. With a skreeeeeeeeeee, he transforms into a bestial cicada and lurches at Spike, intending to devour the human, well-seasoned with chemicals as he is. Leaping into the air, Venom transforms into a Giant Cicada. Combat: Giant Cicada sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Giant Cicada strikes Omnisuit "Salamander" with his Chomp attack! Target selected. Kickback's visor lights up with an internal targetting HUD. He draws his weapon brings it up to his face, looking down the sights, waiting for just the right moment to fire. Combat: Kickback analyzes Kenya Momesa for weaknesses Kickback can exploit. Robotic Praying Mantis can't even hit someone when they're blinded. She must need to practice more. With a growl she whirls around to face the ninja, staring him down in a little standoff. But instead of drawing a gun he starts to approach, slowly at first which Scorn copies. "Then perhaps I can just leave a mark on you instead." She hisses and speeds up when he does, shrieking in fury as the two break out in a full out run and she swings blades wide just before they meet. Unfortunately her scythes find air instead of a squishy human, Hikage disappearing instantly and nearly making the larger Con stumble over herself in surprise. "Eh..? Hn.. Interesting little trick you've got there, human. Don't think that being invisible will save you." Senses are on high alert now, antennas twitching as Scorn straightens up and turns stone still as if waiting for him to strike. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis takes extra time to steady herself. Pass The tremors continue as deep in the planet's core, the conductors running up into the power plant start to overload. Insane amounts of power begin to pump through the generators. Chip looks pretty freaked out. "Spike, WE HAVE TO GO, THIS PLACE IS GONNA BLOW!" And it does. The roof of the plant explodes, and out of it? A whirling mass of lightning storm, overtaking poor Shrapnel. He shrieks inside the storm, and is suddenly silenced. And then the storm looks at everyone gathered. Faceless, shapeless, but nevertheless The Storm looks down at the surface combatants. It *sees* every one of them. The Storm hovers for a moment as the tremors intensify, and then suddenly lashes out with bolts of energy before it screams off into space. The Storm is gone. Shrapnel is gone. And that's when the planet really starts falling apart. Combat: Mysterious Electrical Storm strikes Robotic Praying Mantis with its Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has mode-locked2 Robotic Praying Mantis . (MODE-LOCKED2) Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Mysterious Electrical Storm strikes Giant Cicada with its Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has mode-locked2 Giant Cicada . (MODE-LOCKED2) Combat: Giant Cicada has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Mysterious Electrical Storm strikes Barrage with its Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has mode-locked2 Barrage. (MODE-LOCKED2) Combat: Barrage has been temporarily incapacitated. Mysterious Electrical Storm> Combat: Targetting Error: You need to see Wraith Power Armor to attack him Combat: Mysterious Electrical Storm misses Power Armor with its Lightning Area attack! Combat: Mysterious Electrical Storm strikes Combat Hovercycle with its Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has mode-locked2 Combat Hovercycle . (MODE-LOCKED2) Combat: Combat Hovercycle has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Mysterious Electrical Storm strikes Omnisuit "Salamander" with its Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has mode-locked2 Omnisuit "Salamander" . (MODE-LOCKED2) Combat: Omnisuit "Salamander" has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Mysterious Electrical Storm strikes VSC-25 Firehawk with its Lightning Area attack! Combat: That attack has mode-locked2 VSC-25 Firehawk . (MODE-LOCKED2) Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk has been temporarily incapacitated. <'Decepticon'> Venom says, "I KNEW that this planet was more than it seemed - and now it has taken Shrapnel. I will compose his eulogy myself." Mysterious Electrical Storm has left. <'Decepticon'> Kickback says, "Why bother." <'Decepticon'> Venom says, "Why Kickback, don't you know? We cicadas like to... sing." <'Decepticon'> Scorn says, "Should we follow that storm.. thing and go after him?" <'Decepticon'> Kickback says, "I suggest we take our leave!" <'Decepticon'> Barrage says, "Hcchh... If we /GOTTA/." <'Decepticon'> Venom says, "We should infiltrate an EDC compound on Earth. They must have backups of their notes! There is something... wrong with this planet. Aside from it falling apart. We must unravel its secrets." <'Decepticon'> Barrage says, "My question is WHY DON'T WE HAVE Suits? Hccccssh!" Omnisuit "Salamander" shakes his head as if to clear out those really bad thoughts while Venom deals with a harpoon in his head. Still painfully sluggish, he can't quite move fast enough to avoid pinchers coming down around him, crushing his armor into his skin. And bones. And organs. "AGH!" he yelps, desparately to escape the biting. "FUDGE!" Omnitool humming to life, he tries to stab Venom in the mouth with it - only to be stopped by the lightning that seemingly fries everyone. His suit shorts out and it's really, really hard to move without the power steering, but at least he's not dead. He's only in Venom's jaws, unable to move. Power Armor braces himself to soak the sonic wave the insecticon sent his way. The waves slightly damage his armor but nothing too worrying for now. Unfortunately he doesn't spot Kickback and cannot counter him for now. "Yield damnit!" he shouts as he unleashes another blast on Barrage. Judging by the lack of comment on the broadband frequency, Spike has his hands full down there and he must free himself to help him! That's went all hell break loose but thankfully, Kenya's armor protect him. <'Decepticon'> Venom says, "It's a conspiracy to keep us from power!" Combat: Power Armor strikes Barrage with his Gauntlet Blast attack! -2 <'Decepticon'> Scorn says, "As much as I hate leaving a prospective meal, I agree Kickback." Combat Hovercycle 's cycle veers to a halt right next to a lightning storm, and it looks quite deadly. The entire place is starting to shake itself to pieces. She's wounded, at near ground zero and in zero G. Good thing she's into this sort of thing. Poise tries to reboot her systems. Click. Error. Click. Error. Click. Error. All things considered, if she doesn't get moving NOW, life is going to end shortly. Trying to shake off the electrical numbing, and the electrical pain, Poise starts to ease herself out of the cycle. She was going to have to get to base on foot, since her cycle was dead. Wraith Power Armor prepares for another attack on Scorn when all hell breaks loose. Lightning strikes all over the place hitting friend and foe alike. He messages his team but before the evac he runs at Scorn leaps and makes a nice downward cut a the shoulder. Combat: Suddenly, Wraith Power Armor appears out of thin air! Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Wraith Power Armor strikes Robotic Praying Mantis with his Ninja-to attack! -3 The planet is starting to split in half. Can everyone recover and escape before they fall into a pit and die or whatever happens when a planet falls apart? DRAMA AND SUSPENSE. Luckily Zipline is currently unconscious and can't feel herself hitting the back wall of the Firehawk's cockpit. Probably better that way. <'Decepticon'> Scorn says, "I'm heading for the shuttle." Giant Cicada is locked in his monstrous cicada mode with his bloodlust high. Human-made technology has an odd taste to it, but it is not disagreeable. However, he finds that he cannot work his jaws to make them close. He's... stuck. That weirdo electricity is as potent as any of Venom's toxins! He knew this was a trap! Fear and rage grip him. As soon as he can move... as soon as he can move... he's abandoning this wretched place! Combat Hovercycle unhooks herself from the cycle finally. She was going to die here. It was...disappointing. Even at her strongest push, she couldn't do EVA to the base and get aboard an escape shuttle in time. She was going to die. The Nebulan frowned. It never occured to her that... The sounds of her cycle restarting distracted her. Poise looked back to the controls, "Oh...thank goodness..." CUT TO THREE SECONDS LATER. The hovercycle roars towards base even as Talia starts her crash landing, <> Grinning like she just set her worst foe on fire, Poise eats a great deal of terrain up in her mad dash back to base and some sort of swift exit. <> Heroic interns begin swooping in with the station's EDC shuttles picking up personnel for swift rescues. Wraith Power Armor makes a mad dash for the shuttle. "I hate space ops...I hate spaceops..." He hops and leaps with his anti-gravs. "Clear the door! Coming in fast." Power Armor makes sure that everyone safely get back to the shuttle before board it himself. He quickly heads towards the command deck. "Is everyone aboard? Yes? Then let's get the hell out of here." Were Scorn able to keep her focus, would she have avoided Hikage's attack? Perhaps. But things never work out that way as her concentration is completely broken by the 'storm monster' that breaks out of the planet, steals Shrapnel, and zaps her into oblivion. She's left stunned (literally) and staring until lightning strikes her down, forcing a screech from the femme that only amplifies when Hikage makes his move and stabs her through the shoulder, pulling her from her stunned state. "You little wretch! I'll-!" But then the planet begins to crumble and that's Scorn's cue to leave. With a huff of displeasure she flits off back to the shuttle, eager to get off this useless rock. Shrapnel's going to get an earfull if they ever find him again. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Combat Hovercycle and Decepticon Dropship At the literal last moment some of the Firehawk's systems fire back up, mainly the ones that had been previously rebooting from Shrapnel's blast and thus already down when the planetary storm hit. It's not enough to keep from hitting the ground, but as the Firehawk rattles heavily from the impact it sputters back to life with just enough lift to keep it from becoming a wreck. Talia somewhat roughly pushes Zipline out of the cockpit due to lack of time, then grabs the saftely line from Poise and snaps it onto Zipline. "Pull her outta here!" Tapes may be small, but they're a little big for humans to carry still. She's close to follow behind. "Let's scoot!" One of the larger transport shuttles, the ones used for exos and vehicles, throws out a mag-line to snare the downed Firehawk and pull it away into its hold as its taking off. Combat Hovercycle gives a rapid thumbs up to Talia, anchoring the other end of the safety strap, "Got her!" Poise actually slides through the emergency airlock, the cycle skidding sideways, its main thrusters kicking in as it hits the gravity field. "Clear the ramp!" She squeaks as she takes her cycle right inside one of the last shuttles about to launch, dragging a...well yeah she's dragging Zipline the moment that gravity field came up. But the tape'll survive this fight! Combat: Combat Hovercycle takes a moment to shake off the effects of the last attack. Some where near the Decepticon shuttle, someone will find the burnt out but still barely functional body of Shrapnel. A strange word in an odd language is almost branded across his chest. Ultioferax. Shrapnel gasps, reaching out to his fellow Insecticons. "Waaaiitt...I still function..." He's floated near death in space before. Turned out find last time.